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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The story opens with the word "prithee" (332). What does this word mean in this context?
(a) I disapprove of this.
(b) Listen carefully.
(c) Keep this information secret.
(d) Please, I am begging you.

2. On page 334, the narrator refers to the "panoply" of Miss Coulson's "unthrilled bosom." What is the meaning of "panoply" in this context?
(a) Unemotional wisdom.
(b) Ceremonial clothing.
(c) An impressive array.
(d) A suit of armor.

3. Whom does the narrator refer to as "the venerable and scarcely suspecting victim of May" (334)?
(a) Mr. Coulson.
(b) The iceman.
(c) Mrs. Widdup.
(d) Miss Coulson.

4. What is the first indication that Mrs. Widdup does not listen carefully?
(a) She thinks that Mr. Coulson is telling her about his feelings for another woman.
(b) She does not pay attention to how much medication she is supposed to give Mr. Coulson.
(c) She does not respond to the question that Mr. Coulson asks her.
(d) She interrupts Mr. Coulson when he is speaking.

5. When the author compares May to Circe and explains the comparison at length, what literary technique is he using?
(a) Conceit.
(b) Synechdoche.
(c) Anaphora.
(d) Hyperbole.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Miss Van Meeker Constantia Coulson?

2. According to the narrator, what does May want humans to remember?

3. What is the implication of the passage "She blushed. Oh, yes, it can be done. Just hold your breath and compress the diaphragm" (333)?

4. What is implied about Miss Coulson when she looks at the flowers "with the eye of a botanist" (334)?

5. What kind of clam is a "chowder-doomed clam" (332)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does O. Henry use verbal misunderstandings to characterize Mrs. Widdup when she first appears in Mr. Coulson's room?

2. Explain the significance of the diction "foxy" to describe Mrs. Widdup (333).

3. How do words like "yaller" and "lawsy" in Mrs. Widdup's dialogue characterize her?

4. What is the thematic significance of the olfactory image of the city in springtime?

5. Explain the titular allusion and the allusion to "the poet" in the first sentence of the story.

6. What rhetorical purposes does O. Henry accomplish with his introduction of Mr. Coulson through a list of things that he "has," like gout, money, and a daughter?

7. What happens overnight that changes Mrs. Widdup and Mr. Coulson's fate?

8. How does O. Henry characterize the month of May?

9. What is Miss Coulson's plan to head off her father's budding romance?

10. Explain the technique at work in the sentences "Sparrows wrangled happily everywhere outdoors. Never trust May" (333).

(see the answer keys)

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